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6 Nov 2014

End Times Characters and Units Rules Review II

The End
Times started off with a bang a few months ago, featuring the cataclysmic return of Nagash,
Valten, Neferata, Crom the Conqueror and numerous other heroes of legend, as
well as the deaths of famous characters beyond count. Now, they continue with
End Times: Glottkin, named for the hulking northmen trio supremely blessed by
Grandfather Nurgle and featuring an updated and combined army list aptly named
the Legions of Chaos, featuring the hordes of Beastmen, Daemons of Chaos and
Warriors of Chaos unified under the will of Archaeon. While this book focuses
more on a vanguard force of Archaeon's world-burning force, this is nonetheless
a gift for all scions of the Dark Gods; the rules for Chaos Ascendant, Legions
of Chaos and the return of Marks of Chaos for Beastmen gives Chaos players more
tools to use in their games than ever before. In this review, I have chosen to
cover not just the newly introduced characters and units favoured by Nurgle,
but also all the many special rules and potential combinations that End Times: Glottkin
offers for the servants of Chaos. I hope you enjoy it! Scratch that - Blood for
the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne!

End Times Characters and Units

Orghotts
Daemonspew

Despite
not being the favourite of the three Maggoth Riders and often considered the
weakest of the bunch with the lowest survivability and no magical or support
abilities, Orghotts is nonetheless one of the most brutal close combat
characters in the game for his points cost and is a match for any equivalently
priced model. If we run the numbers, he will thrash Neferata in the space of
three rounds of combat despite being 220 points cheaper than her, while someone
like Mannfred or Arkhan the Black also cost as much as Neferata but will be
similarly annihilated in short order. Tyrion on Malhandir in his current
incarnation will fall short of Orghotts despite being within 10 points of the
base price of the mighty Chaos Lord - though Orghotts will be left with only
three wounds left assuming average rolls - while almost any other combat
character you can name with a similar cost to Orghotts will fall in rapid
succession. Most units short of great-weapon wielding hordes will be incapable
of overcoming Orghotts, especially as he has the equivalent of Tyranid Acid
Blood. Heck, even a horde of Hammerers only manages to cause roughly two or
three unsaved wounds per round on Orghotts, while he kills between seven and
twelve each round on average. Yikes! Considering your average tooled up Chaos
Lord usually costs between 300 and 350 points, this speaks volumes of the value
of Orghotts given he has 9 wounds and the Monster profile. He is also one of
the few melee characters of that price range that can actually stand up to and
have a good chance of defeating a tooled-up Vampire Blender Lord build, with a
cavalry-mounted one falling roughly most of the time to Orghotts while a
foot-based version is virtually guaranteed to lose due to the Thunderstomp. The
fact of the matter is that nine attacks (he has paired magical hand weapons) at
Strength 8, striking at Initiative 7 with no Always Strikes Last is absolutely
insane, especially when each of those attacks is Poisoned and benefits from
Orghotts' high Weapon Skill 8. Throw in the Mark of Nurgle on a model with a
crazily high Weapon Skill value as it is and Orghotts ranks as one of the best
combat characters in the game point-for-point, even before accounting for a
Strength 6 Thunderstomp and immunity to Killing Blow.

He is
also incredibly hard to put down when compared to the mounted Mortarchs, having
nine wounds at Toughness 5 with a 3+ armour save and 6+ ward save; the extra
point of Toughness does give a slight edge to the Mortarchs generally, but the
Mark of Nurgle and an actual armour save - and a good one at that - make
Orghotts pull ahead of at least Neferata and Arkhan in terms of survivability.
Don't forget that the three Maggoth Lords are not Large Targets and can thus
benefit from cover bonuses, making them far more resistant to shooting attacks
than the Mortarchs. He has the attacks and Thunderstomp to eat entire units on
his own while hiding behind his very nice defensive stats, while almost any
combat character short of Karl Franz Ascendant will fall flat on their face
against his predations. Many will argue that such insane combat prowess is
unnecessary given how expensive the model is points-wise with a Level 4 Wizard
usually being the superior option, but isn't that what the End Times rules are
for, anyway? The other Maggoth Lords also strike at Strength 8, sure, but not
striking at Initiative is a big blow against certain opponents that can
actually threaten them. Ultimately, however, I do agree with the general
consensus that putting a Level 3 Wizard or having a 4+ Regeneration save on the
Maggoth Lords are generally more useful than having the improved combat prowess
just because they are either more durable or provide better value for the
points investment. I am of the firm belief though that Orghotts is easily worth
his points if you do want a combat-centric character as there is very little
that can stand against him when you realize just how cheap he is for what he
brings to the table. Heck, just run him into a unit of Monstrous Cavalry and
watch the carnage as he tears entire units of them apart by himself with ease -
his thin base size means he has a big advantage over many elite melee units by
denying them loads of attacks! Being Leadership 9 also makes him a superior
General compared to both Bloab and Morbidex for the purposes of Inspiring
Presence, though I will say that his shooting attack is almost pointless given
he is Movement 6 and wants to get into combat - if the ranged attack had a
range greater than 6", it would be worth a bit more, though being able to
Stand and Shoot with it is nice of course.

Competitive?Yes.

Bloab
Rotspawned

The
Maggoth Lord equivalent of a Sorcerer Lord, Bloab is my personal pick of the
trio competitively because he combines a Level 3 Wizard using the respectable
Lore of Nurgle with some great survivability and damage output by virtue of
being a Monster. Where Orghotts is a melee-centric character, Bloab is easily
the most "versatile" of the three Maggoth Lords by not only being a
wizard and having decent combat prowess, but also providing by far the best
shooting attack of the trio. Three Wizard Levels means an army list with just
Bloab as its' Lord choice spellcaster will suffer a bit in terms of magic
defence at first glance, though it is still better than what either Orghotts or
Morbidex bring to the table by a hefty margin. The spells on offer generally
help Bloab to greatly weaken his opponents to make them even more vulnerable to
his shooting attack, while the lore attribute is almost as ridiculous here as
it is for the Glottkin. Having six attacks at Strength 8 that Always Strikes
Last and benefit from Weapon Skill 5 give Bloab some nice damage output that is
almost equivalent of a generic Chaos Lord armed with a great weapon - though
obviously if you can make use of the Strength 6 Thunderstomp Bloab will emerge
the victor in that comparison - while Initiative 5 means he isn't vulnerable to
the Pit of Shades or any of the test-or-die spells. He has similar
survivability to Orghotts with eight Toughness 5 wounds and a 3+ armour save,
though losing a wound and the 6+ ward save mean he is the most fragile of the
three - even if it isn't by any significant amount, it is still something to
point out. The Mark of Nurgle makes him a tough competitor in close combat,
though it obviously provides little assistance against the war machines that
will inevitably be pointed his way. However, it is in the special rules that
Bloab truly proves his worth as the most competitive Maggoth Lord option.

Whereas
the other two have a shooting attack that is virtually only there for Stand and
Shoot charge reactions, Bloab's is actually downright scary by firing a stone
thrower shot that hits at Strength 3 and ignores armour saves. This will scythe
through heavy cavalry, regular infantry and other such units respectably,
though lacking the Multiple Wounds special rule and only impacting at Strength
4 under the hole means it isn't very useful for character or monster hunting.
Additionally, any enemy unit within 6" of Bloab at the start of his Magic
phase suffers D6 Strength 3 magical hits, making Bloab a potent anti-chaff tool
that can easily rid himself of Ethereal units that try and hold him up - these
hits might be distributed as for shooting attacks but they can still hit
engaged units! However, what really sets Bloab apart is that he provides a +1
bonus to all of his casting attempts that makes him act as a pseudo Level 4
Wizard, though easily the best part of this rule is that he also extends a -1
penalty to any enemy casting attempts made within 12". When you
consider that most people take Level 4 Wizards for magic defence rather
than actually winning the game through the use of spells, this is an impressive
rule to have that can actively cause an otherwise successfully cast spell to be
treated as a failure, while bringing opposing Level 4 Wizards down to Bloab's
level. Being a Movement 6 Monster helps with the limited range and also means
he will be difficult for your opponent to target with close-ranged spells such
as Spirit Leech which would otherwise prove a huge threat given he has a
"mere" Leadership 8. On that note, Bloab isn't that great of a
General because his Inspiring Presence is only Leadership 8, though with the
End Times rules this isn't such an issue as you can simply throw an Exalted
Hero into a unit with the Standard of Discipline and have a cheap General that
hides in a unit safe from harm. Frankly, this is a small note when compared to
the insane value Bloab brings; he is an improved stone-thrower, a great combat
character, a Level 3 Wizard with benefits and a very tough eight-wound Monster
all thrown into one model that still manages to only barely exceed the 400
point mark. He is a fantastic choice and there is little doubt in my mind that
competitive Nurgle-themed army lists will often field this putrid blob of
rotting flesh.

Competitive?Yes.

Morbidex
Twiceborn

Whereas
Orghotts is quite obviously an empowered Chaos Lord, Morbidex has stats more in
line with an Exalted Hero given he has Weapon Skill 7, Initiative 6 and 7
Attacks as opposed to Orghotts' eight, seven and nine, respectively. As the
cheapest of the Maggoth Lords, Morbidex seems like the weakest at first glance
with combat stats that aren't far removed from Bloab's, the same armour save
and the worst of the three shooting attacks while also possessing no
spellcasting capabilities. The Mark of Nurgle on a Weapon Skill 7 model does
still mean he is an absolute beast in combat and downright impossible to stop,
especially with eight Toughness 5 wounds and a 3+ armour save. What really
defines Morbidex and highlights the fact that he is cheaper than the other two
Maggoth Lords by a decent margin is the fact that not only does he have a 6+
ward save like Orghotts, but he also has a 4+ Regeneration save in the same
vein as the Glottkin. If that doesn't ring any bells in that mind of yours,
this means that most hits on Morbidex will usually fail to wound because of his
respectable Toughness 5, he will ignore most low to medium Strength hits
because of his 3+ armour save, and then he will ignore half of all unsaved
wounds that are not flaming or inflict Heroic Killing Blow because he has a 4+
Regeneration save. With eight wounds, that means that - per point spent - he is
quite possibly the most durable character in Warhammer Fantasy right now, with
the Glottkin only having four more wounds and a higher point of Toughness
despite costing more than twice as much as Morbidex.

Like
Bloab, he also packs on the punch with seven Strength 8 attacks at Weapon Skill
7 that strike last, making him a beast in close combat when you throw in
the fact that he also has Nurgle's Rot - even if the small chariot base width
means Morbidex doesn't capitalize on this nearly as well as the Glottkin. On
the note of small base width, I have to point out how insanely difficult
Morbidex is to kill once he reaches combat - as if ignoring half the cannonball
hits he suffers wasn't good enough (unless they are of the Daemonic or Dwarven
variety) - as only very few models will be able to attack the insanely
survivable Maggoth Lord. The fact that he provides Regeneration to all
Nurglings within 12" is a cool buff for what is generally a very nice
tarpit unit, though ultimately what you will really be interested in is a
combat character that is almost as powerful as Orghotts but is effectively
twice as hard to kill against non-flaming attacks. In that sense, Morbidex is
fantastic and would rate second on my list of the three Maggoth Lords ranked by
their competitive uses simply because Bloab has that awesome stone thrower shot
and is a Level 3 Wizard. I would argue that the 4+ Regeneration save outweighs
the offensive boosts Orghotts receives for the most part, seeing as a 6+ ward
save really isn't that great against war machines such as cannonballs or stone
throwers - a core issue with Orghotts that he ultimately has little answer to,
whereas Bloab at least has the Lore of Nurgle and his ranged presence to reduce
either the damage or attention he draws.

Competitive?Yes.

Putrid
Blightkings

This is
definitely one of the most confusing units in Warhammer Fantasy right now and
the reason might not be obvious until you actually put the unit on the
battlefield and test them out a few times. The stats are amazing and don't let
anyone tell you otherwise; three Toughness 5 wounds per model with a 3+ armour
save and the Mark of Nurgle makes for insanely durable troops, even if you
consider that they are vulnerable to Killing Blow and Thunderstomps. If you
consider that a single Chaos Warrior dedicated to Nurgle and equipped with a
shield has the same armour save, one less point in Toughness (which is huge in
Fantasy) and two less wounds per model despite costing just under half as much
as one Blightking, you quickly realize how insanely valuable the new
Nurgle-themed unit is. Three attacks each at base Strength 4 with Weapon Skill
6 and Initiative 5 is very impressive for a unit this tough, especially as all
Blightkings are capable of swapping their weapons in each new close combat much
like Black Orcs. Sacrificing a 3+ armour save for a 4+ armour save to upgrade
each models' attacks to Strength 6, or keeping the shield and thus a 6+ parry
save, or getting an extra Strength 4 attack per model at the cost of the shield
means Putrid Blightkings are an insanely versatile unit. They will dominate
most other units in close combat assuming equivalent frontage and points
because they are so crazily survivable and can dish out damage like few other
units can, all the while featuring an impressive profile that makes them mostly
immune to the many test-or-die spells running around currently.

Unfortunately,
there are two major issues the unit suffers from that serve to make them one of
the most confusing regiments in application that the theory can fail to cover.
The first issue is that they are Infantry, not Monstrous Infantry, meaning that
despite having three wounds per model they are still susceptible to Killing
Blow - made popular by Undead and Khorne Daemons - and can be Stomped or
Thunderstomped like anything else small and brittle. This also means that you
need to run them in a five wide formation to ever benefit from Steadfast or
rank bonuses, even though Infantry are relegated to one supporting attack per
model which wastes the fact that each model has three attacks. The second
problem which ties heavily into the first is that Putrid Blightkings are
actually situated on the standard 40mm square Monstrous Infantry base, meaning
a standard minimum unit of five deployed five wide and one deep will have a
maximum frontage of 200mm - the equivalent of two Arachnarok Spiders placed in
base contact with each other. If you ever want to benefit from Steadfast or
rank bonuses or supporting attacks (even though Blightkings only get one each
despite having three attacks per model) then you will need to run them
five-wide, which is the equivalent of a ten-wide horde of 20mm models such as
Witch Elves or Halberdiers. Against your typical five-wide bus unit - whether
infantry or cavalry - this means you will be wasting a tonne of attacks from
the Blightkings unless you count on them losing models so that the others can
step up into position before they strike with their own great weapons, but any
strategy that relies on losing expensive models is a lost cause. It also means
that even despite not having many models, five of these deployed in a single
rank so as to not waste all of their attacks will struggle immensely to make
its' way across the table when chaff and fast cavalry can stall them so easily.

Being
Movement 4 with no Swiftstride or any kind of speed boost doesn't help their
cause, while choosing to deploy them three-wide means you will inevitably be
wasting a lot of attacks and not getting any rank bonuses - though I guess
making two support attacks from the back two (in a basic five-strong unit) is
better than completely losing out on six attacks. With three Strength 6 attacks
each in the front rank, however, I feel the purpose of Putrid Blightkings is to
act as a counter to monsters, monstrous infantry and monstrous cavalry, with
even a three-wide unit of Demigryph Knights - for example - still allowing all
five Blightkings to attack due to being corner-to-corner with the Demigryph
Knights. This is an encounter Blightkings will just barely win despite not
being quite as expensive per model, their Mark of Nurgle, high Toughness and
multitude of Strength 6 attacks allowing them to trade blows with most
monstrous cavalry units - of course, the lack of Stomps, Swiftstride, general
mobility and immunity to Killing Blow don't help their cause. Provided you have
the chaff and redirectors to set them up on a good charge - coincidentally,
Beastmen and Daemons of Chaos help their Northmen brethren out immensely in
this regard - there isn't too much that can stop them in a straight fight, the
Blightkings serving as a good reminder of why Nurgle is the best represented
Chaos God currently in Warhammer Fantasy.

Competitive?Yes.

Gutrot
Spume

While his
Putrid Blightking cohorts are a very unwieldy unit in practice, Gutrot's
classification as a character means he can be put to good use in numerous other
unrelated units. Aside from being on a Monstrous Infantry base yet retaining
the Infantry unit type, Gutrot is essentially a standard Chaos Lord with some
noticeable improvements to help him stand out from the usual suspects such as
Crom the Conqueror. He has the usual profile of a Chaos Lord with an increase
in his Wounds and Leadership values, meaning he is a 4+ armoured Lord choice
with four Toughnness 5 wounds, while he is also one of the only Leadership 10
General options available to Warriors of Chaos. Packing the Mark of Nurgle on
to a model with a great weapon provides a great mix of offence and defence in
close combat, with Weapon Skill 8 and base Strength 5 with 5 Attacks making for
some very nice damage output. Nurgle's Rot on an above-average base size is
decent enough, but the real meat of Spume comes from adding D3 extra attacks
that still make use of his great weapon in each close combat phase. His
affinity for water-based terrain and the benefits he extends to any unit he
joins are obviously highly situational, but if you player on a board modelled
with beaches or rivers then they will act as a nice little buff for a regiment.

It
doesn't sound like Gutrot does much to distinguish himself from a regular Chaos
Lord but ultimately that is kind of the point, given that he costs a mere 40
points more than a basic Chaos Lord and yet gains an extra wound, the Mark of
Nurgle, a great weapon, that crucial and very rare (for Chaos forces)
Leadership 10 as well as a bonus D3 attacks each round in the exchange. Much
like Crom the Conqueror, Gutrot is intended as a cheap special character option
that is incredibly valuable when compared to his generic counterparts - he is
very tough, has good damage output and most importantly provides you with
Leadership 10 for the purposes of Inspiring Presence. Once you work out how
much a Chaos Lord with the same equipment costs, you are paying exactly 12
points for the extra wound, point of Leadership, extra D3 attacks and affinity
with water-based terrain. That is just insane and the fact that his base size
forces him to sit at the edge of a regular infantry unit doesn't compromise
what is easily a highly valuable model, though putting him with anything from
Trolls to Dragon Ogres can prove both amusing and effective.

Competitive?Yes.

Festus
Empowered

Of the
various "empowered" rule-sets introduced by the two End Times books
so far, I feel Festus is just as great as he always was but players may want to
just stick to the cheaper version if they are tight on points - the fact that
you can use either his new or old incarnations (but not in the same army list)
in the Legions of Chaos means you aren't stuck with the new rules unless you
want them, however. Exchanging the Sorcerer profile for that of a Sorcerer Lord
plus the usual Festus improvements doesn't seem worth all the extra points at
first glance, though he does have some cool new abilities to play around with
and one also needs to remember how insanely good those support abilities
already were. Festus' profile has definitely improved greatly - make no mistake
about that - with an increase of one to his Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill,
Toughness, Wounds and Attacks values, while his Initiative has increased from a
pitiful two to a much more respectable five, bringing him in line with a
hardier Sorcerer Lord. Being Toughness 5 with Regeneration makes up for his
utter lack of an armour save or a ward save, meaning he is still as susceptible
as he always to high Strength flaming attacks or Killing Blow attacks. He has
been increased from Wizard Level 2 to Wizard Level 3, while he still possesses
all the same special rules as before.

The main
aspect of Festus was always that he provided both Poisoned Attacks and a 5+
Regeneration save to every model in a unit he joined, making him the perfect
leader for a Nurgle Chaos Warrior unit wielding halberds; this thankfully has
not changed one bit, and the fact that he can now join anything from a horde of
Gors to Bestigor makes it even more impressive. He also retains his Pestilent Potions
which are now even more useful because Festus has three wounds base rather than
just two, while he has gained several new abilities to represent his high
standing in Nurgle's eyes. He can now not only cast three spells regularly, but
also has the option to use a Bound Spell with power level five, causing all
friendly models - it is important to note this specifies models, not units -
within 12" to be treated as being in hard cover for shooting purposes.
That it is a regular bound spell and not innate does present a problem with
irresistible force, though you should only need two dice to get it off and it
really is quite powerful. When you consider that the Mark of Nurgle only works
in close combat, the bound spell provides a very hefty defensive buff to an
army that otherwise is traditionally at its' most vulnerable in the Shooting or
Magic phases. Add in the fact that all units on the battlefield treat terrain
(but not open ground, per the FAQ) as dangerous terrain can help to limit the
mobility of an enemy army quite significantly, even if it obviously won't
affect units with the Strider special rule.

An
additional little note in regards to the Eye of the Gods special rule is that
if Festus Empowered rolls a double six (Dark Apotheosis) on the chart, he
automatically passes his Leadership test to turn into a Daemon Prince. I'm
honestly not that impressed with this given that the chances of it happening on
Festus of all characters are slim as always, while it is such a minor buff to
that rule anyway. When you compare Festus to a similarly outfitted Level 3
Sorcerer Lord (as much as possible, anyway) he ends up paying around 65 points
to give his unit Regeneration (5+) and Poisoned Attacks, forcing opponents to
treat all actual terrain as dangerous terrain, gaining a powerful bound spell
to help your army against ranged attacks, the ability to heal himself or force
an opponent to take what amounts to a Strength test or suffer D3 wounds with no
armour saves allowed. That is simply insane value to have for a special
character, even if the Hero choice may be the favourite of some (or many)
simply because he provides the crucial buffs - the Regeneration (5+) and
Poisoned Attacks for an entire unit - on a much cheaper model in the less
contested Hero slot. The reality is that no matter which version of Festus you
use, he is still one of the best special characters around for the points and
gives you the ultimate bang for your buck.

Competitive?Yes.

Karl
Franz Ascendant

While the
debates used to always be left with an inconclusive result as to who was the
most powerful close combat character in the game - the usual suspects being
Kholek Suneater, Nagash and the Vampire Blender Lord - the End Times: Glottkin
book has inadvertently settled this topic once and for all, but not in the way
anyone expected. While the Glottkin is certainly a super-powered character much
like Nagash that provides you with a melee monster and a high level wizard,
its' melee prowess does not hold up at all against that of the resurgent Karl
Franz Ascendant. Many believe this character is unofficially Sigmar Reborn, and
given how astonishing his melee stats are it is hard to argue against such a
claim. Weapon Skill 7 and Initiative 7 seem fairly standard of a high level
combat character, while Strength 6 and Toughness 5 are above average but
nothing to write home about. What is impressive are the 9 Wounds, 3+ armour
save, 4+ ward save and Magic Resistance (2) that serve to make Karl Franz
Ascendant by far the toughest of the combined profile ridden monster models,
with Morbidex Twiceborn coming in at a somewhat distant second given that
Regeneration can be ignored by several types of attacks. Karl is all but immune
to test-or-die spells and provides your army with a massive 24" Inspiring
Presence using his maximised Leadership 10, a huge asset to have for any Empire
army that traditionally has to contend with low or mediocre Leadership
values.

Having
the Monster unit type means that Karl Franz and Deathclaw are immune to Killing
Blow and cannot be the subject of a Stomp or Thunderstomp, while they
themselves get to dish out a Strength 6 Thunderstomp in turn against eligible
targets. That they share the Fly special rule means they can guarantee a turn
two charge at the absolute latest, making their terrifying melee presence all
the more jaw-dropping. They are also both Immune to Psychology and Stubborn
which, given Karl's Leadership 10, means they will practically never run away
from a fight - in the seemingly impossible scenario that they actually manage
to lose on combat resolution. Deathclaw remains as savage as before with the
Bloodroar special rule forcing enemy units to roll 3D6 (or 4D6 in some rare
cases), discarding the lowest when resolving Fear or Terror tests against them,
meaning they can easily exploit and run down units that are subject to
psychology. Franz also possesses a relatively strong innate bound spell with a
high power level six, inflicting D6 Strength 6 hits on an enemy unit within 18"
with a chance to inflict a further D6 hits on a 3+, and then again on a 5+, all
on the same unit. This is effectively an even nastier version of Urannon's
Thunderbolt from the Lore of Heavens and allows Franz to cut down particularly
nasty enemies or units with ease; being an innate bound spell means there are
absolutely no risks to casting it with irresistible force.

Of
course, this is all well and good, but what exactly justifies my claim that
Karl Franz Ascendant has settled that aforementioned hotly contested debate?
Keeping in mind that he has an all-time high ten attacks with Weapon Skill 7
and Initiative 7, every hit Karl Franz lands on an opponent wounds
automatically, ignores armour saves and has the Multiple Wounds (D3+1) special
rule. If you are busy picking your jaw off the floor just like I did the first
time I read these rules, don't be at all embarrassed; this is what everyone
felt when they glimpsed the newly remade Emperor of Mankind (heh). I don't
think I need to explain just how much this absolutely annihilates anything that
gets in Franz' way short of a horde of High Elves with the Banner of the World
Dragon, but let me provide a few examples of what this combined profile
character is capable of. Against Nagash, Franz strikes first and hits five
times on average which leads to five wounds. If we round up all fractions and
equations in favour of Franz' opponent, Nagash will suffer two unsaved wounds
before the Multiple Wounds (D3+1) special rule is applied. Seeing as at minimum
each unsaved wound will be multiplied into two unsaved wounds, Nagash will at
minimum suffer four unsaved wounds, but on an average roll he will lose all six
of his wounds. This is before Nagash strikes, and assuming Nagash starts the
round of combat on full wounds. That's right, we have a model that doesn't have
to rely on luck with Heroic Killing Blow to instantly slay a 1000 point
character in one round of combat before they can land their return blows. As
the Unreal Tournament announcer would proclaim, "holy sh*t"!

The
engagement doesn't go very well for the twelve wound Glottkin either, with
Franz landing 5 hits a turn (accounting for the Mark of Nurgle) of which the
Glottkin will fail two or three saves, leading to an average of six to eight
unsaved wounds in total yet again. Seeing as Franz has nine wounds and a 4+
ward save in addition to Toughness 5, it is virtually impossible for the
Glottkin to kill Franz with his return blows - the average rolls see Franz
suffering between two and four unsaved wounds, meaning Franz will kill the
Glottkin in two rounds of combat. Don't even bother trying to send an
"immortal" Tzeentch Chaos Lord with a 3+ ward save, re-rolling 1s
against Karl Franz as just one unsaved wound - ten attacks, remember - will see
the Chaos Lord slain provided Franz rolls anything above a 1 or 2 on the D6
roll (or above a 1 on the D3 roll). The same holds true of a Vampire Blender
Lord, while Kholek Suneater will never even get to strike against the (heavily
implied) living avatar of Sigmar. Franz will eat monsters, monstrous infantry
hordes, hordes of infantry, ethereals, heavy cavalry, monstrous cavalry and
literally anything in the game short of a White Lion unit carrying the Banner
of the World Dragon in a few rounds of combat between his ten attacks and
Strength 6 Thunderstomp, while being a flying monster means he can always
choose his engagements. There is nowhere to hide from the wrath of Karl Franz
Ascendant, and for the points, you would be crazy not to include him if you
want to prove once and for all that the "puny" humans of the Old
World can match it with the demi-gods and daemons that plague its' lands. While
likely being unable to afford a Level 4 Wizard in the same list outside of 2100
point games (or larger) does restrict his uses in smaller games, even turning
up in a 2000 point match with Karl Franz Ascendant is sure to give any opponent
the scare of their war-gaming life.

Competitive?Yes.

Thank you
all so much for reading my latest article concerning the End Times series! Much
like the first End Times book, we have been given a host of awesome special
characters and units that are sure to be popping up in competitive and themed
army lists alike with incredible frequency. From the perspective of a gamer
first, I really like the direction the End Times is going in with significantly
increased options, the potential to combine multiple army books for a
superlative army list and the introduction of some truly game-changing
characters. Even then, the model releases themselves have all been fantastic
and the exponential sales boost Games Workshop is apparently enjoyed with
Warhammer Fantasy at the moment is definitely justified. Based on the example
set by the first two books, I have high hopes for subsequent End Times books -
especially if the rumours surrounding the supposed End Times: Khaine are true!
Thanks again for viewing this article and I hope that you put these thoughts to
good use in your own games. Have a nice day! Eel out.

2 comments:

I honestly had a spit-take when I saw his rules. The people that say "oh, you can just tarpit him with an infantry unit" forget he is a flying monster and can thus choose his engagements in every single game! He is absolutely bonkers and I love it.